


i believe you could lead the way

by LeanMeanSaltineMachine



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Princess Bride Fusion, Background Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Critical Role), Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Minor Angst - Canon-Typical, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25771459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeanMeanSaltineMachine/pseuds/LeanMeanSaltineMachine
Summary: So Percy was stolen from his Vex and from his Vax. He watched and aided the steady destruction of his town. His family wasted away in the dungeons.But fate is not always unkind - there is faith, and friendship, and true love. There are quests and noble almost-heroes for every villain. And sometimes, when a family is found and souls reunited, the world is made change to something better.
Relationships: Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	1. Prolouge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NotAFicWriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotAFicWriter/gifts).



> THIS IS A YEAR LATE HI, HELLO
> 
> It's been done since November but I kept intending to add more. I'm just posting what I have written now, and the second half of the movie involving Vox Machina shenanigans and more True Love will come later on!
> 
> Hope you enjoy, Fica <3

Percy lived in a small town by the name of Whitestone. His favorite activities were tinkering in his workshop, and failing to keep his cool around the flirting of the farmhands who lived nearby.

There were two of them, one a braided beauty by the name of Vex, and the other a stunning long-haired marvel by the name of Vax. Fortunately or unfortunately, they had an equal fascination with the pink on Percy’s cheeks, and fortunately or unfortunately, Percy had an equal fascination with the play of dark hair against light brown cheeks.

The three of them had a series of adventures between them, the sorts that children and young folk get up to: greasy doorknobs for the absentee and too-disappointed father in Vex’s and Vax’s lives, firework arrows for Vex used to awe the children in town, a hidden ticking made to drive Percy’s older siblings mad. What Vex and Vax didn’t need to tell Percy was that this was a childhood they never got to have and were grateful for the chance to be young and happy. What Percy never needed to tell Vex and Vax was he had his own fair share of responsibilities they helped him run from until he felt ready to return. They all understood each other perfectly.

Months passed and then a year and then two, and the three of them grew into friends and then best friends, and then Vax went off to the West with vague tales of earning a fortune and a name for himself. Those who thought they knew him whispered Vax left so the two slow-burn lovers Vex and Percy could finally spark. No one knew Vax like Vex and Percy, though: there was mischief and good to be done elsewhere, with a priestess by the name of Pike and a minstrel by the name of Scanlan, so Vax took himself and his bright eyes to new people who might be in need of some knives or stealthing.

Urged by some unknown force that was entirely known and too scary to be named, Percy built a house that was more of a shed for Vex, and Vex put all of her hunting things on the shelves and in the rafters. That is to say, Vex lived there in all but name, and enjoyed the wind that blew between the boards. Said it made it feel like she was outside, without the fear of a raindrop directly in her eye. On the forehead was much better.

Regardless of the how they got there and the whys, Vex and Percy lived together in open secret for a number of weeks, before the neighbors started talking about those nice young folk in that shed over there, and wouldn’t it be nice to have some children running around? And miraculously Pike was there for a wedding on the cliffs nearby that everyone was invited to, and was attended by a select few who were there for a fight, which is another story.

By this time a reader may ask: well, there go the fun bits! Fights at a wedding, true love, falling in love, pranks with a well-meaning and only slightly dark-hearted trio: what more is there to have a tale about? Thankfully it is not the reader writing the story. And the story goes something like this.


	2. Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An introduction to the situation at hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw for: kidnapping, threats of murder

Percy was something of an inventor. He came from a prosperous line of rich brunettes selling stones rumored to be enchanted by the ley lines running under the castle and straight through the town. It was all superstition and anecdotal, of course, but it kept what light bit of tourism Whitestone had strong, and business brisk. No one wanted to risk running afoul of a family in charge of such a beautiful and necessary resource, let alone one that may have the backing of the fey. And Percy, quiet, studious, emotional Percy, was very, very interested in the fey.

In due time, the young man read all the books available and fashioned himself a weapon never seen before, sure to give him the upper hand in any otherworldly dealings. He went into debt. He got himself into trouble. He tried to get himself out and gained some more trouble for that effort.

Some things just never change.

But that’s not the important part. The important part is that somehow Percy’s mishandling of his time and brains gained him Vax and Vex, and lost Percy what little credibility in town the young fourth child still had. It didn’t matter to Percy, and certainly not to Vax and Vex, who had set themselves on a mission to get Percy into cahoots. But when the Briarwoods came into town, it set up a little bit of a problem.

They captured the whole family. They had intended to kill them, stage a sleepy little coup, but Percy channeled his ability to talk himself into and out of a bad situation and sent them all to the dungeon instead. Unbeknownst to him, little Cassandra was stolen as a daughter and an heir.

See, it’s all well and good to have a smooth inventor-cum-scientist on your side. It’s entirely another to have a child the undead could actually love.

So Percy was stolen from his Vex, whom he had kissed the night before as she left on a Hunt, and he was stolen from his Vax, who had gone off to search for something he could believe in. It would be a while before they saw each other again.

It was long enough for white hair to creep up the sides of Percy’s hair, and for his weapon to be found by another older, wiser inventor. Percy did not have many morals, but as he watched and aided the slow destruction of his town, he wished he’d had enough to never have invented Bad News. Nothing travels faster. 

Then again, as three figures arrived for dinner, perhaps Percy could find himself grateful for that little fact.

He wasn’t supposed to be there, and technically he wasn’t - he was watching from the little hole in the dining room ceiling that had been caused by a certain escapade with certain younger siblings, yet miraculously could be blamed on normal building wear and tear. Percy appreciated funds always being diverted from fixing up his home now, as he watched a bard set up a stage, a willowy redhead sit down, and a hulking giant of a man move to stand behind her. They were all poised, on edge, waiting for something, and Percy silently praised their instincts.

“We’re glad you could make it,” Lady Briarwood began with a warm smile.

“We are - I am as well,” the redhead replied, obviously trying to match her hostess’s grace and falling flat. “Thank you for having us.”

“It is our pleasure,” rumbled Lord Briarwood. “A toast, to new friends, and allies in unexpected places.”

The redhead raised her glass, drank, and the dinner moved on.

Matters of state were discussed, but Julius and Vesper had been the head for those things, not Percy. He was far more interested in the bard who seemed far too interested in the conversation, and in the giant who couldn’t seem to keep up even as he tried his hardest. Eventually, he seemed to settle for staring at the bobbing feathers on top of Lady Briarwood’s hat. Percy had to admit there was a certain hypnotic quality to them.

The dinner ended, and the guests were brought to their own quarters. They tried to separate the bard, put him with the staff, but the redhead protested with the most poise seen so far for this ‘Scanlan’ to simply be put in another adjoining suite. This was distasteful to the Briarwoods, but the transportation and druidic knowledge dealings with the Ashari were still new enough that they allowed for Keyleth of the Air Ashari to have her way. Grog and Scanlan didn’t even wait to high five.

Percy ducked around a corner, waited for the Briarwoods to leave, waited for the corridors to empty, waited for his heart to slow - but that last step never came, so he stepped forward and knocked sharply on the door.

“Who is it?” called Keyleth.

“Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III,” Percy said. “And I need you to get me out of here.”

There was silence, and then the door peek open, exposing two sets of suspicious eyes at unnervingly different heights.

“What do you want?” grumbled a low, threatening voice.

“I just said --” Percy began, before being stopped by another voice - Scanlan - speaking up.

“Why should we get you out of here?” asked Scanlan, which was a fair question to Percy, but apparently not to Keyleth who apparated beside the two. This happened to push the door quite wide and Percy eyed the new opening, but also eyed the giant man in front of him, and decided to keep his limbs intact for the time being.

“What’s going on?” Keyleth asked. “What’s wrong?”

Perhaps it was the soft tone her words carried or the honest concern in those green eyes, but Percy found himself nearly overwhelmed with a deep sense of relief. “I need to get out of here,” he repeated quietly, glancing over his shoulder nervously. “They’ve kidnapped my family, and I can’t get them out if I’m stuck in here.”

“Wouldn’t this be the perfect place to get them out?” Scanlan argued. He was ignored.

“Can we get them out with you?” Keyleth asked, and was met with a sharp shake of the head by Percy.

“They’re down in the dungeon - it would take a bigger plan than this to get them out. I told Ripley I was gathering supplies, but if I take too long she’ll come looking for me. We have to leave now, and quietly.”

Keyleth bit her lip, thinking. Scanlan had no more protests, and Grog just watched the three of them with a raised eyebrow. When no more words were forthcoming he added, “So?”

Keyleth nodded firmly. “Let’s go. Quickly. Vax?”

“I’m on it,” said a voice from the shadows, scaring Percy more than he would ever admit to. The shadow melted into the form of a man and then blended into the curtains.

“Alright come in,” Keyleth said in a harsh whisper. It was more dramatic than was needed, but Percy appreciated it, so he just did as he was asked and didn’t comment.

There was a slight click and the window swung open. “How are we going to get down?” asked Scanlan.

“Big man goes down and catches us,” said Vax.

“We climb down carefully,” said Keyleth.

“You don’t leave at all,” said Lady Briarwood.

There was a moment of tense silence. It was still, and peaceful. Then Grog threw Scanlan out the window - though, in Grog’s defense, Grog also threw himself out, considering Scanlan was wrapped securely in his arms.

“Go Kiki go!” Vax demanded, throwing daggers towards their hostess even as he was hit by some unseen force.

Keyleth stared for a moment, wide-eyed, before grabbing Percy’s hand and jumping. Lord and Lady Briarwood saved the group the trouble of waiting for Vax’s own descent by also throwing him out the window.

“Keyleth, can you -”

“Already on it!”

Grog caught a breathless, bleeding, slightly stunned Vax and turned towards the gaping maw in the tree. “And you all complain I chase tail,” Grog sniffed. “Look at the star-eyes on this one.”

“Maybe if you’d pay for creepy, sharp-toothed men and ladies you wouldn’t have to break into mansions,” added Scanlan before jumping through.

“You all broke in,” sulked Vax. “And I can walk, big man.”

“Sure you can,” Grog agreed, before also jumping through.

Percy found himself unable to decide what to focus on - the fact Vax was here, perhaps his Vax? Or the fey magic glimmering green and starting to fade around the tree, even as he watched? The looming figures in the window, now coming towards them with alarming speed?

“Percy, go!” commanded Keyleth, and such a voice from her shocked Percy’s feet into movement.

He jumped.

The tree closed behind him.


	3. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pirates! (Or: cue Benny Hill theme.)

The group tumbled out into a forest where a ship rocked with the waves and waited for them. “We gotta go,” said Grog, running forward to start unfurling the sails. Vax trotted after him.

Scanlan ran towards the ship, as did Keyleth before she paused. “Percy?” she asked in confusion.

He blinked several times. “Yes?”

“You coming?”

He blinked again. These people - these wild, crazy people - wanted him to come with them? They had fulfilled their deal. Keyleth had put herself and her people’s fortunes on the line, and a stranger’s freedom worth more. Scanlan and Grog had no pressure to accept him but had done so. And Vax - could it be him? And if so -

Where was Vex?

Percy shook his head as if that could clear his thoughts, before nodding. “Yes - sure - thank - thank you.” He jogged forward and began to wonder if these people were pirates.

“Are you pirates?” asked Percy.

“No,” said Scanlan, right at the same time as Grog said, “Yes.”

The two looked at each other.

“I mean kinda,” Scanlan admitted, with Grog changing his mind and saying, “No?”

“We’re not bad pirates!” Keyleth hastily reassured him. “We just - take things! Sometimes! For money! But we don’t - we don’t kill people.”

“You killed a child that one time.”

“That was one time!” Keyleth protested, and to her credit, she appeared truly upset. “One time!”

“Only takes once,” Vax said sagely. “You flirt with one pretty shop man and suddenly you can’t be trusted anywhere, on any mission.”

“You left me to go shopping for your date,” Grog pointed out, seeming angry and glum. “That’s not fair.”

“You had Keyleth pretend to be your wife!” added Scanlan.

Keyleth patted Vax’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” she soothed. “We all have our strengths and weaknesses.” Vax threw up his hands and walked off, though where Vax thought he was going on a ship three strides long Percy didn’t know. Regardless, he knew an opportunity when he saw one.

“Vax?” Percy called while wincing at the hesitant tremor in his voice.

Vax instantly turned. His eyes and face were a mix of expectancy and soft understanding that was as familiar as ever.

Percy meant to ask a million things. How have you been? Where have you been? Who are these people? Do you trust them? Do you remember me?

Instead, he asked, “Where’s Vex?”

Fortunately, though Percy did not know it yet, Vex was nearby. Very nearby. Within sight, actually.

“Time for that later,” Vax said with an unhappy twist to his mouth. “Scanlan, we have to go!”

“I’m trying!” he yelled. “Grog, come help me with this!”

Grog took a look at the rope his friend was struggling with, took it in his two big hands, and unfurled the sails. “Did I do that right,” he asked.

“You did great, big guy,” Scanlan responded fondly. “Keyleth, get us out of here!”

The wind picked up and they moved away from shore and towards the open water. As fate would have it, the second ship on the sea also moved towards the open sea.

“Who are they?” Percy asked no one in particular. He was standing in the middle of the ship, effectively in the way of things. Vax bustled him over to the side and squinted his eyes towards the second pair of white sails on the horizon.

“No one we want to meet,” he said grimly, which was not helpful at all. There were many people Percy did not want to meet, and often included friends in that list when he was working.

“That’s the Dread Pirate Roberts,” Scanlan offered cheerfully. “They’re probably here for you. Or us. Probably you.”

“How do they know I’m here?” Percy asked in shock.

Scanlan shrugged. “Plot convenience? It certainly has nothing to do with the fact we have gold, residuum, and an unofficial princess on board.”

“Scanlan!” protested Keyleth, but it was unclear if she didn’t appreciate the title, or if she was more upset at the giving away of ship contents.

“I didn’t take you for smugglers,” said Percy.

Now it was Grog who shrugged. “Variety is the spice of life,” he said sagely.

“We really need to get out of here,” Vax butted in. “Keyleth, can we go any faster?”

Keyleth gritted her teeth. “I can, but that’ll be it from me for the day. I’ll be effectively useless.”

“You’re never useless, Kiki,” Vax argued. His tone took on an uncharacteristic softness as he stared at her. She managed a tiny, unconvinced smile, before a flaming arrow struck the deck and broke the tension.

“That’s a problem,” announced Percy.

Scanlan sighed and took out a small hand cone. “I guess we’re doing this,” he muttered.

What ensued was an oddly passive-aggressive fight involving a few more arrows, these ones unlit, some singing, some wind, and a lot of confusion on both sides. Percy’s group was largely uninterested in fighting, as they knew they would lose, and the opposing faction was wary of damaging their potential conquest. The wind strengthened, Percy’s group pulled ahead, and they ducked out of sight behind some cliffs.

“What are we gonna do?” whispered Keyleth fiercely, which was a surprise to Percy considering he believed her to be in charge.

“We climb,” answered Scanlan. “Or, Grog and Vax do, and you and I bamf up there.”

“Why don’t I get to be bamfed?” Vax complained.

“You’re our stealth dude! You climb all the time!”

“Not sheer cliffs! I’m weak! Pike calls me stringbean!”

Scanlan opened his mouth to retort, but Keyleth cut in. “Scanlan’s right. I can get up there with a little help from the plants around here, and Grog can carry Percy up. If you need help, we’ll come get you, Vax.”

There was some grumbling from that direction, but the team assembled and climbed up the cliff with only minor difficulty. Unfortunately, there was a figure in black who had decided to join them, and was decidedly unburdened by a scrawny white guy.

“You want me to kill him?” asked Grog.

“Not yet,” Scanlan replied with a thoughtful frown. “Keyleth, think you can hold him off while the rest of us get out of here?”

She gave a determined nod. Vax apparated next to her and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “And I’ll be here too, Kiki,” he said.

“Alright. Grog, Percy, let’s go,” Scanlan said, and off they went.

In the meantime, the figure in black was also not the strongest, and in fact had found herself, unfortunately, stuck on the cliff. It wasn’t a bad place to be, necessarily - there was a nice breeze that cooled the sweat from her brow, and the view was incomparable - but it did leave something to be desired. Mainly, her beau.

She heaved herself up another ledge and looked up. Still plenty of daylight, and no vats of boiling oil coming down on her head. She’d count that as a success for the moment.

She tried to move up again, but her shaky arms wouldn’t take her any further, so she sat on her ledge and stared out dramatically at the sea. Sometimes it helped. This time, it only made her feel foolish, and she could feel frustration clouding her thoughts.

“You just chilling down there?” came a high, clear voice. Vex looked up again and saw a face haloed by red hair.

Vex tried to think of something suave to say, something Zahra would appreciate, but all that came out was, “Maybe so. Feel like giving a pirate a hand?”

The red hair disappeared over the cliff, and then reappeared. “You’re lucky Scanlan isn’t here, or you’d really get one,” the voice said. There was a pause and then, “Are you stuck?”

“Only a little darling,” Vex said breezily. “I’ll be up there momentarily.”

The red hair moved - in a nod, perhaps? - and disappeared again. There was a lovely few moments of waves crashing on the rocks, the wind sticking her hair to the cliff, the gulls crying, before the voice came again. “Do you need help?”

Vex looked up. “Are you seriously offering to help me kill you?” she asked in disbelief.

“I was just asking!” Red Hair defended. “I thought it would be nice! And it’s not like you’d kill me anyways. I don’t think.”

Vex raised an eyebrow, though the effect was probably lost from the distance. “And what makes you think that, dear?”

“Oh, you know,” Red Hair said vaguely, which did nothing to clarify what she meant.

Vex opened her mouth to point that out, then sighed. “And what would this help look like?” she asked instead.

It seemed as if the very air brightened. “Oh, just put your hands on the rock!” she chirped. “You climb, and I’ll give you a boost.”

Vex eyed the remaining ledges and cliff before her doubtfully. “You’ll give me a boost,” she repeated.

“Yeah!” replied Red Hair. “You coming?”

Vex paused, closed her eyes and sighed, then began the climb up again. If she died, she probably deserved it.

Surprisingly, she did not.

She reached the top of the cliff and collapsed to enjoy some air into her lungs. “Thanks for the help,” she managed to say. “Why… why did you do that, by the way?”

Red Hair’s clothes shifted - a shrug, perhaps? Vex didn’t know when she had closed her eyes, or why that felt like something she felt safe doing, but there she was. “It didn’t seem right to just leave you on the cliff,” said Red Hair. “Besides, you’re easier to capture up here.”

“What?” said Vex, her eyes snapping open, but she was already grappled. “Let go of me!” she snarled. She twisted this way and that, trying to break the hold, but was unsuccessful.

“I can’t do that,” gasped Red Hair. “I need to see if you have any scales!”

“What,” demanded Vex, before she was wrapped in vines and left facing her assailant.

“No scales,” Red Hair reported, sounding put out. “Guess you’re not them.”

“What in Pelor’s name are you going on about?”

“There was a… woman, who massacred a number of my people,” Red Hair replied. Her smile held no mirth. Only bitterness. It was a familiar look from Vex’s mirror, and Vex hated to see it on a face that seemed made for hope.

“...I’m sorry to hear that,” Vex said finally.

Red Hair collapsed on the ground next to her. “When I meet her,” she said, “I’m going to approach her. I’m going to say, ‘My name is Keyleth of the Ashari. You killed my people. Prepare to die.’ And I will scorch her skin, just as she left my people to the flames, and then she will die.”

Vex pondered that for a moment. “Wow,” she said.

“Too much?” Keyleth asked, side-eyeing her before shaking her head. “No. No, it’s not nearly enough.”

“No, I suppose not,” Vex replied softly. She thought of a polite kidnapping and empty home, and how such neglect paired with such care could never be understood or repaid. She thought of the ashes of the love she carried from her mother, and the sad smile of her brother as he poured two gold into her hand from an activity she didn’t ask about.

No. Some things, revenge couldn’t touch. But she understood the search for it anyway.

The two sat in silence, and Vex marveled at the fact she enjoyed the companionship, and was alive to do so. “You know, you could just kill me,” she pointed out casually. “I’m kinda stuck here, after all.”

Keyleth looked at her square on. “Why are you here?” she asked. Her eyes were green, Vex noticed. They seemed to spark, like the embers of a fire.

“You have Percy,” she replied. “I want him back.”

“Why?” Keyleth asked again.

“You stole him from me,” Vex said, and could not hide the anger and jealousy and possessiveness from her voice. “He was not yours to steal.”

“That’s the point of stealing,” Keyleth pointed out. Vex shook her head fiercely.

“Some things are only temporarily yours. Gold, ships, papers, clothes - material things. They are yours for a brief while, and then they are gone. But Percy? He’s mine. He isn’t yours.” Her voice cracked, and she hated the tears that threatened to burn their way down her cheeks. Still, she glared at Keyleth, glared until the other woman sighed.

“A person can’t be yours,” she argued softly. “A person can’t belong to someone else.”

“No,” Vex agreed. “You’re right. But he has my heart, and I should like the chance to return his, if he needs it.”

Keyleth studied her, then something beyond her, for what felt like ages. Finally, Keyleth nodded, and the bindings around her relaxed. “You will have that chance from me,” she said. “But I am not the only one concerned here. You will have to convince them, too.”

“Fair enough,” Vex said, steeling herself and storing her tears farther away than the back of her throat. She stood and brushed the dust and sand off her clothes. “I don’t suppose you could give me a hint as to what direction he is?”

Keyleth considered, before smirking. “You’re a tracker, aren’t you? Go track.”

Vex was torn between confusion at the correct assumption, irritation at the command, and excitement at finding her Percy. Finally she traced the dirt with her eyes and fingers, studied the rocks around, and found her direction. She had a love to find.

\--

Percy did not enjoy the feeling of being chased.

He trudged after Scanlan despite the man having admitted to ‘just walking in a direction until an idea came to him.’ Unfortunately, Percy found himself in the same activity and with the same lack of brilliance. He hated it, and the feeling of loathing he felt was near overwhelming. So smart, and always ending up trapped, a voice mocked in his head. You’re a pretty chess piece, aren’t you?

Percy snarled before he could stop himself, and abruptly stopped when Scanlan turned back to look at him in alarm.

“Everything okay back there?” Scanlan asked. He eyed Percy as if he were a wild animal. Percy felt this may be accurate.

“We can’t just run and hope to not be found,” Percy snapped. “There must be something we can do - some trickery, some place to hide.”

“You see any around here?” Scanlan replied, spreading his arms out wide to encapsulate the sweeping moors. “You got any tricks up your sleeves, aside from a silver tongue and strange ability to attract scary people?”

Percy growled again. “Maybe we could use that to our advantage,” he muttered. “Some way to get attention, a distraction --”

“I can make a small illusion,” offered Scanlan, “though I’m not sure how much good that will do us.”

Percy thought for a moment, then grinned, feeling bright and feral. “It’ll work just fine,” he promised. “I have a plan.”

\--

It was odd how familiar it was to be followed. The flash of black at the corner of her eyes, the soft sliding of cloth against cloth, leather scraping rock. Vex could almost call it comforting. It reminded her of the crew at her side and behind, and of Vax in, well, any direction. She reminded herself that this wasn’t a friend. This was an unknown entity from the ship, someone who had taken Percy, and they could swoop in at any moment to halt whatever game was going on here. They hadn’t, yet, for whatever reason.

It was making her nervous. She didn’t have time for that.

Any such thoughts were forcefully pushed out of her mind at the sight before her. There… there was Percy! Lots of Percy. Three Percy’s. Percy smirking, Percy smug, Percy looking politely confused. He’s wearing a bulky blue coat, a stained work shirt, tall and muddy boots. He looks worn. He --

She blinks.

“Percy?” she tries.

“Yes?” all three of them answer.

Vex stares at them.

They stare back.

“I’m looking for… Percy,” she tries again.

“You found ‘im!” says the one on the right, incredibly cheerful and deep. Vex does not think that she has, in fact, found him, but she appreciates the thought.

The one on the left shoots the speaker a look. “Just take me,” he sighs dramatically, turning his eyes back to Vex. His voice is perfect, but his cadence is off.

The middle Percy is silent. He appears to be deciding between giving in to despair or hilarity.

“Hey wait a minute,” says the one on the right. “I thought we agreed they were gonna take me, and I was gonna chop heads off.”

“They were going to take you, because no one in their right mind would take a victim that volunteers without an ultimatum being given, but now you’ve gone and threatened them!”

“I could still do it. I’ve got my throwing axe and they’re right there.”

“I think I’ll take the one in the middle,” Vex interjects. “I like my Percy’s a little quieter than you lot.”

Percy, her Percy, rolls her eyes, and a voice pipes up from behind. “That’s not very fair, considering how much talking he’s done in the little time I’ve known him.”

“Probably making up for your sparkling conversation, brother dear,” she replies wryly. “I don’t suppose you put them up to this?”

“Don’t give him credit for my wonderful ideas,” Percy says mildly. She doesn’t know when he got close, but now that he is, she can’t be bothered to look away.

“My mistake.” She means it to be dry, cutting, but it comes out too fond, something soft and gentle. How tense have her shoulders been, that they feel so loose and free now? Her lips curl into a smile and she doesn’t have the energy to fight it, busy as she is defeating the urge to wrap hands, her body around the man before her.

Percy doesn’t help her. He just looks, his eyes clear and calculating as always. It hurts, a little, but Vex knows he needs this. And there’s something beautiful to being known by him. “The Dread Pirate Roberts doesn’t take prisoners,” he says. “You died.”

The others, who had begun to buzz with questions like ‘you know these people???’ and ‘what in Pelor’s name is going on?’ and ‘where’s Keyleth?’ quiet down in anticipation of a story. Vex sighs, gives in and reaches out for Percy’s hand. She watches him take it, hold it with both of his own.

“Oh Percy,” she chokes on a laugh, on trying not to cry. “You think death could keep me away from you? My heart was still here. It’s yours, I thought I told you.”

"It's been so long," Percy replies in a voice that's turned hoarse. "Somehow, I'd forgotten."

Vex reaches out and cups his face, feeling the world fall into place as Percy presses his head to her palm. "Come on then," she whispers. "Let's go home."

Percy grimaces and steps away, but not before taking her hand in his. "Well, it's a bit more complicated than that, I'm afraid," he says. "I have a story to tell. Shall we walk and talk?"

Vex watches him and nods slowly. "Yes." And she resolved not to bring up her own adventures unless needed.


	4. Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunions of both the pleasant and unpleasant sort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: major character death, canon-typical violence
> 
> huge thanks to Dusk and Kat for reading this over!!! Dusk helped write a line - you're amazing <3

After a quick hug and much hair tousling, the twins split. Vax leaves with Grog to retrieve Keyleth, and Scanlan stays with Percy and Vex. Percy is quick to tell Vex of the devastation back in Whitestone, and does not skimp over the fact it was his inventions that caused so much hurt.

“Did you know, darling?” Vex asks.

“Know?” Percy repeats, before catching what she means. “No. But I knew the chance was there. That’s enough. It  _ should _ have been enough.”

Vex squeezes Percy’s hand with a wan smile. “We are both perhaps too greedy for our own good,” she says. “We want too much.”

Percy wants to argue that Vex never wants enough - that she deserves the world. But he knows that to do so would cause her to absolve him of his guilt, and he does not deserve that. Not ever. So instead he just sighs. “Tell me what you’ve been up to,” he says as their companions arrive.

“Later,” Vex says, her eyes darting to the side to assess the route down to the sea. Going back down the cliff wasn’t an option - they would have to pass through the Fire Swamp. The face she makes does not go unnoticed.

“What is it,” Vax says, sliding daggers into his hands.

“We’ll have to pass through the Fire Swamp to get back to our boats,” Vex replies.

“The Fire Swamp is impassable,” Scanlan argues. “We’ll have to find another way.”

“I don’t know about impossible,” Grog says in his quiet tone that means he’s thinking he’ll be ignored.

“Grog is right,” Vex says with a nod in his direction. “I know a way through.” She hesitates before adding, “I may even have an ally in that forest.”

“An ally?” Keyleth asks, as Scanlan says, “Say no more! I am always ready to trust strangers and throw myself into life-or-death danger in an area I don’t know.”

Vex shoots him an exasperated look. “If you would like to go back down the cliff, you may.”

“No, no,” Scanlan says breezily. “I want to go.”

Vex sighs and shakes her head, taking off at a brisk pace. The group rushes to follow with Vax disappearing into the shadows again.

“Vex,” Percy says, pausing at the strangeness of her name on his tongue after all this time. “Vex,” he repeats, “where were you?”

Vex almost refuses to answer. He sounds hurt, below his careful calm and accusation, and that overrides any wish to keep her shame and activities to herself.

“Well, I was captured,” Vex says carefully, “much like you were.”

“The Dread Pirate Roberts doesn’t take prisoners,” Percy says, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” she agrees. “But he does take laborers.”  _ And those pretty enough to be worth any trouble. _

“I see,” Percy says. He’s frowning. Her face isn’t doing much better. “So, you were a pirate.”

“Yes,” Vex admits, and can’t hide the satisfaction in her voice when she adds, “and a damn good one.”

“You’re good at anything you put your mind to, dear,” Percy says with a smirk. It’s a ghost of his usual smug amusement, but it brings life back to his blue eyes. She’s grateful.

“Not true,” she laughs, “don’t you remember me trying to help you build the cabin?”

“The exception to the rule,” he says graciously.

“Flatterer.” But back to the original topic: “Don’t think I didn’t notice you escaped with pirates yourself.”

“Hey now!” Scanlan protests. “We’re Her Highness’s Royal Guard.”

“Guarding her loot,” Grog agrees, and Scanlan’s dirty look can’t stop the giant man from laughing at his own joke.

“We help people!” Keyleth argues. “And it’s not like the Briarwoods needed all that residuum anyway.”

Percy’s mirth dims. “They most certainly didn’t.”

“So tell us, Captain Vex,” Scanlan says, brushing aside Vex’s grimace with a grand gesture of his arm. “What did life look like on that mighty vessel that surely puts our little dingy to shame?”

Vex hums, deciding what to share.  _ Good work, goodnight, I’ll most likely kill you in the morning, _ Saundor mocks from a dark doorway in her mind. He promises that if she doesn’t die, she might wish she had.

“I made a friend,” Vex offers with the smile that won her hearts and gold without brandished weapons. “She would have made a much better captain than me, but when offered the position said she preferred her punishments to be more, ah,  _ enjoyable. _ ”

“Doesn’t that ruin the fact it’s a punishment?” Grog asks.

“I don’t think she had that in mind,” Vex says dryly. “Regardless, the responsibility passed on to me, though she makes a fantastic first mate.”

“What’s her name?” Scanlan presses.

“Zahra,” she replies. They can’t reach Zahra here, and besides, her friend has stern instructions to leave if Vex isn’t found within an hour’s search of the boat. “She’s the one who trained me, actually.”

“She sounds lovely,” Keyleth says, obviously aiming for polite and cheerful to the point of exuberance. It makes Vex smile.

“She is,” Vex agrees.

“Talking about me, darling?” comes a voice from the road. Vex tenses and ducks in front of Percy, while Grog and Scanlan immediately move to hide Keyleth.

“No can do, darling,” Vex replies. “You know what they say about asking where the devil is.”

“He shall appear,” Raishan finishes with a beautiful smile. “I don’t suppose we can do this quietly?”

“Depends on what it is. If it’s leaving, then certainly, though goodness knows I’m far better at being stealthy than you.”

Raishan’s eyes flash and her smile is pointed. “I was stealthy enough to sneak up on you,” she says. She motions with her gun for Vex to step aside. The shape in Raishan’s hand matches designs Vex remembers being drawn on paper by candlelight, draft after draft discarded and ignored. This one apparently passed the test.

Raishan motions again. “Give me the lord.”

“They have priests for that darling,” Vex begins, before Percy steps out from behind her. “Percy!” she hisses.

“There you are, Percival,” Raishan purrs. “I knew you would see sense.”

“Don’t hurt them,” he says, holding up his hands. “I’m coming quietly. Just let them go.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” she says sweetly, before knocking him out and pointing the gun at Vex again.

She freezes. “You have six fingers on your hand,” she breathes. A sharp intake of breath from behind Grog tells Vex that Keyleth heard.

“The better to kill you with, my sweet,” Raishan agrees over the noise of a shot and a body falling to the ground.

“No!” snarls Vax, leaping and driving a dagger into Raishan’s back.

She stumbles, hard, but doesn’t fall, only grabs Percy’s body and salutes. “My best regards,” she growls, and then the two of them are gone.

“No,” Vax breathes, then screams. “No!”

“Vax, we have to go,” Keyleth says, rushing to Vex’s side. Vax stands frozen until Scanlan takes his hand.

“We know where to go,” Scanlan says solemnly. “Grog?”

Grog nods and scoops up Vex in his arms. “Lead the way,” he tells Keyleth, who dips her head and presses a hand to a tree.

“Let’s go visit some clerics,” she says with a wobbly smile, and with the creak of a tree opening four friends and a body disappear --

…And reappear in front of an old cottage, with herbs in the front and a small brewery in the back. A stocky man with long brown hair startles from where he’s picking from his garden - it’s not everyday citizens come pouring out of a tree.

It does close behind them with a snap, so that was thoughtful.

“Go away or I’ll call the Brute Squad!” Kashaw says with a scowl.

“I’m on the Brute Squad,” says Grog.

“You are the Brute Squad!” Kashaw exclaims after looking Grog up and down. He peers around the giant. “Hello, Keyleth.”

“Hello, Kashaw,” she says weakly. “Is Pike in?”

“I knew you only wanted me for my keg. She’s in there,” he replies, gesturing with his head towards the cottage in a sharp motion.

“Not this time, I’m afraid,” Keyleth says softly, and leads the way in. Kashaw frowns at the sadness in her eyes, more present than usual, and follows.

“Pike! We’re here to visit!” Keyleth calls.

“Pikey-poo!” Scanlan hollers cheerfully. “Love of my life!”

“Hello, Scanlan,” Pike says with fond exasperation. Her eyes are drawn to Vex being placed on the kitchen table gently. She’s suddenly glad she and Kashaw cleared it off this morning. “What’s this?”

“Vex is dead,” Keyleth says bluntly. “We need you to bring her back.”

“I’m not sure I can do that without knowing more about her,” Pike begins, brushing hair out of Vex’s face. “You know that you need sacrifices, a reason to make the person stay --”

“We can do that,” Keyleth interjects. “We just need your help.”

Pike opens her mouth, ready to give in, when Kashaw pipes up. “How can we trust her?”

“What?” Keyleth gasps.

“How do we know we can trust her?” Kashaw motions towards Vex. “You’ve just met her, or you would have mentioned her in your letters. Vax isn’t talking, so  _ something _ is wrong. And if I’m not mistaken, this Vex is dressed up in pirate gear.”

“Kashaw,  _ we’re _ pirates --”

“So you see my point!”

“That’s my sister,” Vax says.

The room pauses.

“Right,” Pike says, pursing her lips. “Kashaw, get a healing potion.”

Kashaw goes, muttering under his breath. Pike brushes off the four looks of adoration directed towards her. “Save your thanks, she’s not back yet.”

“Good news is, she’s only mostly dead,” Kashaw starts, grabbing the bellows and placing the wanted healing potion on what’s left of the table. “Bad news is, she’s mostly dead.”

“But that also means she’s  _ slightly alive, _ ” Pike adds with a pointed look towards Kashaw. “Do we have any chocolate?”

“We’re not wasting perfectly good chocolate on a dead woman.”

“ _ Mostly _ dead.”

“Yeah, Kashaw!” Scanlan argues. “ _ Mostly _ dead!”

“What do we need to do?” Vax asks.

Pike sends him a grateful look. “Gather around. Like we said, she needs a reminder of what there is to live for.”

Vax takes Vex’s hand in his. Keyleth’s brow furrows. Scanlan sighs and pulls out his lute.

“If music isn’t something to live for, I don’t know what is,” he announces, strumming a chord.

“And she just found Percy,” Keyleth reminds the group, as if they needed reminding.

“And she just found me,” Vax adds quietly.

“That should be enough then,” Kashaw says confidently. He pours the healing potion down Vex’s throat, and she begins to cough.

Vax bows his head to her chest. A moment of weakness, a closing of the eyes, to celebrate the thumping of Vex’s heart. Her weak hand pulls through his hair. “Hey there, Vax. Long time no see. Nothing to worry about, yeah?”

Vax straightens with a thunderous frown, opens his mouth to speak, but Pike interrupts him. “Make sure to get something light to eat in an hour, and no vigorous activity!” she says firmly. “If anything feels strange after a few days, come back and see us.”

Kashaw mutters something about ‘visitors,’ but Vex doesn’t appear to notice in her newly-alive daze. “Right,” she says faintly. “I’ll do that.” She scans the group. “Where’s Percy?”

“That green bitch took him,” Grog rumbles. “Right after shooting you.”

“Not before Vax stabbed her in the back, though,” Scanlan says with no small amount of satisfaction. Normally this would make Vax smirk. Now his face is stone.

“What’s next then, Vex?” Keyleth asks. It feels strange to ask for guidance after so long leading. It’s also a relief.

Vex struggles to sit up, thanking Vax when he helps her. “We go get Percy back,” she declares.

The group bustles around getting ready and makes their way out the door. Pike shares a glance with Kashaw. “Wanna bet that involves strenuous activity?”

“Oh it absolutely does,” he says, turning to put their supplies away.

“I don’t suppose a healer or two should go with them, just to make sure they’re alright?”

Kashaw stills, then groans. “Fine! Fine. Let’s go.”

Pike beams and rushes out the door. “Wait for us!”


End file.
